Salvation: It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood
by Michelle Heath
Summary: Story #10 in the "Salvation" series. This one is pure fun, folks, and it's also "interactive" to a point. I hope may of you choose to participate!
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

**Title: "Salvation Series: It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"**

**Author: Michelle Heath**

**Rating: MA for adult situations and language**

**Summary: Story #10 in the Salvation series. This one is pure fun, folks!**

**Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!**

**Date Written: May 23, 2013**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, everyone! Well, I am writing the tenth story in the Salvation series and I've decided that this one is going to take a dramatic, (and I use that term loosely), turn in a whole, new direction! There has been lots of trauma and drama in this series up until now, but I've decided that the tenth installment is going to be pure, unadulterated fun! AND . . . you're all going to help me write it! This is how it's going to work: I'm going to "get the ball rolling", and all of you who want to participate, (and I hope that ALL of you do), are going to contribute. The only rule is that you must send me your ideas in private messages and NOT through reviews that everyone can read. This idea came to me after I went back and re-read some reviews of my earlier stories. Several of you were kind enough to offer me some suggestions that I have yet to use and I thought why not make this a group effort? Each person who submits suggestions, and, again, I hope ALL of you do, will be given full credit. So . . . Are you guys game? Let's see! Michelle**

**Samantha and Steve McGarrett:**

(With several of her pilots grounded due to a nasty virus that has been making its way around the naval base, Cmdr. Samantha McGarrett has been pulling extra duty. At the moment, its 0630 hours and Sam has just gotten home after flying training exercises all night. She's exhausted, hungry, and has a bad case of missing her husband and eighteen month old daughter, Emily. Sam's steps are heavy as she gets out of her car and heads toward the house. Her steps and her mood lighten, however, when she hears her daughter's sweet laughter mingled with the deep huskiness of her husband's. A smile forms on Sam's full lips as the thought that, even as tired as she is, just the sound of Steve's laughter can set her senses to tingling. The scents of bacon and coffee mingle together deliciously to whet Sam's appetite, and her smile widens as she realizes that she won't have to wait much longer to appease her hunger. Following quickly on the heels of that thought is one that the only thing that would be any more heavenly would be to have breakfast in bed . . . 'Course, if Steve McGarrett were to bring her breakfast in bed, well, the bacon, eggs, and coffee would all be stone cold by the time they got around to actually eating breakfast.

_Make up your mind, Sam . . . Do you want breakfast or Steve? . . . Steve. Food is way overrated. . . Damn, Emily's awake! . . . Samantha McGarrett, how can you even think about trying to get Emily to go back to sleep so you can jump Steve? . . . _

Sam has unlocked the door and gone into the house while having this inner conversation with herself, and she has just stepped into the kitchen and opened her mouth to say good morning to Steve and Emily when a huge blob of oatmeal lands squarely on her face; half of it flying directly into her mouth. For just a moment, Sam is nonplussed as her tired brain slowly registers the fact that her daughter just launched a barrage of oatmeal at her and is now giggling excitedly as the thick substance begins to slowly slide down her face and onto her flight suit and the floor. Coughing to clear the oatmeal from her throat, Sam is astonished to hear Steve's unrestrained laughter joining their daughter's and her thoughts instantly change from amorous to angry. In less than a split second, she whirls on her husband with fire in her eyes. . .

Steve and Emily have been hard at work making breakfast as a surprise for Sam and Emily got a little fussy so Steve quickly whipped up some oatmeal and placed it in front of his daughter just as he heard the front door open and close signaling Sam's arrival. He turns from the stove at the same moment that Sam steps into the kitchen and sees Emily launch a very well-aimed spoonful of oatmeal directly at her mother. He can't help it. It's really, _really_ funny and he bursts into full-bodied, spontaneous laughter as does Emily. He quickly realizes, however, that his wife is not the least bit amused and does his best to control his amusement when he sees the fire in Sam's emerald green eyes. But the sight of his wife with oatmeal dripping from her face and flight suit and an expression of stunned surprise on her beautiful face is too much for him and his honest and hearty laughter slips through again. Sam rounds on him and takes a menacing step in his direction before turning on her heel and fleeing up the stairs to their bedroom. Quickly wiping stray oatmeal from Emily's beautiful little face and hands, Steve scoops her out of her highchair and into his arms and heads up the stairs. When he steps through the door of the master bedroom, he has to work to keep from laughing out loud again as he watches Sam angrily wipe the now cold oatmeal off her face and flight suit and drop the tissue in the small trashcan next to her makeup table. She makes quick work of removing her boots and socks, and her angry eyes meets his amused ones in the mirror as she strips off her flight suit in quick, jerky movements and kicks it free of her feet. Spinning around to face Steve, Sam plants her hands on her hips and nearly hisses when she speaks.)

"Did you teach Em to do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know damned well what, Steve McGarrett! Did you teach our daughter to lob oatmeal at anyone and anything including her mother?"

"Of course not, Sam; what kind of question is that?"

"A valid one! How else would she have known how to do it if you didn't teach her, Steve?"

"It might have something to do with _you_ explaining to her, in great detail, may I add, how you fire missiles from your FA/18, Sam."

"Oh, no, you don't! You're not going to twist this around and put the blame on me! Besides, firing a missile from a fighter and lobbing a spoonful of oatmeal are two entirely separate things! One more time . . . Did you teach our daughter to throw oatmeal?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe. Have you lost your mind? Next thing you know, she'll be throwing food at everyone who's within three feet of her while she's eating whether we're at home or _in a restaurant_, Steve. Did you stop to think about that?"

"C'mon, Sam, you're blowing this all up out of proportion."

"No, I am _not_! I cannot believe you think Emily throwing oatmeal at me is funny!"

"It _was_ funny, Sam, and, if you'd stop ranting for a second, you'd realize just how funny it is."

"Ranting? I'll show you ranting!"

(And Sam proceeds to verbally tear Steve a new one while little Emily, snuggling happily in her Daddy's arms, giggles at the silly grown ups.)

**Caroline and Danny Williams:**

(Caroline Williams, also having flown night exercises, quietly unlocks the garage door and steps into the kitchen. The house is quiet and Caroline moves as quietly as possible through the den and down the hall toward the master bedroom. Easing the bedroom door open, she smiles as she spies her husband. Danny is sprawled across the bed in a tangle of sheets sleeping like a log. It's more than obvious that he has tossed and turned most of the night and Caroline remembers that he once told her that he never slept well when she wasn't there with him. Carefully setting her ready bag on the floor near the door, Caroline quietly eases closer to the bed. She has just about reached it when Danny's voice, raspy with sleep, breaks the silence of the room.)

"Are you really going to try and sneak in here after being out all night?"

"I wasn't 'out all night', Danny; I was on-duty; flying."

"You were still out all night, Caroline."

"Well, we're certainly in a good mood this morning."

"What? My wife is out all night and I'm supposed to be happy about it?"

"I was _working_, Danny! How many times have you dropped everything and flown out the door because you caught a case? Have you ever heard me complain?"

"That's different."

"How?"

"Just is."

"Just is?"

"That's right; just is. I'm going to take a shower."

"Danny Williams, don't you dare cop an attitude with me and then walk away!"

"Just stating fact . . . And I _am_ going to take a shower. I like to at least try to smell decently when I go to work."

"Did you just tell me I _stink_?"

"Eau de Jet Fuel."

"What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Nothing."

"Nothi. . . Come back here and explain yourself!"

"A little cranky, are we?"

"Me? You're the one who was itching to pick a fight when I came in here, Danny."

(They have steadily moved from the bedroom into the master bathroom and Danny has turned on the shower and stripped off his shorts while they've been talking. He pointedly ignores his wife and calmly steps into the shower pulling the glass door closed behind him. Caroline, her face a mask of stunned disbelief, stands in shocked silence for just a moment before the sight of her totally naked husband registers and immediate, intense lust replaces the anger that was beginning to simmer just below the surface. In mere seconds, Caroline has rid herself of her boots, flight suit, and underwear and reaches for the handle on the glass door to the shower. Much to her surprise, however, Danny has observed her actions and reaches up to _hold the door closed_. Staring at him with utter disbelief on her beautiful face, Caroline experiences a myriad of emotions: incredulity, doubt, and finally, hurt crash into one another as they skitter across her heart. Flushing in humiliation, Caroline grabs a towel from the counter and holds it in front of her naked form defensively as she makes a hasty retreat back to the bedroom. For just a moment, Caroline stands trembling in the middle of the bedroom. Whether the trembling is caused from anger or hurt at Danny's blatantly obvious rejection is unclear but it takes only seconds for rage to be the dominant emotion she is experiencing. Wrapping the towel securely around her shapely body, Caroline takes a deep breath, expels it slowly while counting to ten, and then strides into the bathroom where Danny is just stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his hips.)

"Okay, Danny, I realize that you were still half asleep when we first started our conversation so I think we should start over. . . Good morning."

"I was wide awake before you walked through the door, Caroline, and I don't think there's any reason to re-hash anything. 'Cuse me."

(And so saying, Danny walks right by her and into their bedroom where he proceeds to pull a pair of dress slacks and a dress shirt from the closet and carefully lays them on the bed before getting clean underwear and socks from the chest of drawers.)

"You may not think we need to 're-hash' anything, Danny, but I definitely do!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because I came home to find a stranger in my husband's body this morning, that's why! What the Hell is wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me, Caroline. You, on the other hand, are acting a little strangely this morning."

"Danny . ."

"Look, you're tired and I need to get moving; have to be in court this morning. Why don't you go ahead and hit the sack, get some sleep. I'm sure you'll feel better once you've gotten some rest. I'll call you when I get out of court."

(Danny has been dressing as they've been talking, and gives Caroline a quick peck on the cheek as he utters the last sentence and walks out of the room. By the time Caroline has shaken herself into motion and covered the distance from their bedroom to the garage, Danny is already backing out of the driveway. Thoroughly confused and hurt, Caroline slowly wanders back into the house and makes her way to their bedroom. Sighing heavily, Caroline drops the towel to the floor and slips between the sheets. It is a long time, however, before exhaustion overtakes her and she drifts into a deep, dreamless sleep.)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I've hopefully given all of you some "food for thought" and those awesome storyline ideas are flitting around in your heads. Chapter two will visit Kono and Tony and Lana and Chin. Libby and Mike will also be making an appearance but I haven't decided whether or not to give them their own chapter. Maybe some of you have some thoughts . . .? Michelle**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**Title: "Salvation Series: It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"**

**Author: Michelle Heath**

**Rating: MA for adult situations and language**

**Summary: Story #10 in the Salvation series. This one is pure fun, folks!**

**Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!**

**Date Written: May 28, 2013**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I guess my idea wasn't so good after all as only one person has responded with ideas. I do apologize. I had received several p/ms requesting that I write something light, funny, and fluffy for the Five-0 ohana since my other entries in this series had been dark and dramatic. I also wanted to give all of you the opportunity for some major input into this story as that had been requested, as well. Since there has been little interest in this particular story, I will, of course, incorporate the suggestions I have received from one reader, and then try to wrap this up quickly as it doesn't seem to be what you all want to read. Again, I am sorry for this. Michelle**

**Kono and Tony Montgomery:**

(Kono, having been up most of the night with little Eric, who apparently has a stomach virus, drags herself into the kitchen looking extremely tired. Tony is already dressed in his Khaki uniform and standing in front of the coffee maker impatiently drumming the fingers of one hand on the counter. A quick spurt of anger flits through Kono as she correctly interprets her husband's body language, (he can't wait to get out of the house), because not once did he offer to help her with their son during the long night. However, Kono knows that Tony has a couple of important meetings at the base today, and he's just a teensy bit nervous because one of the meetings deals with funding for some of the SEALs' training programs. Briefly closing her eyes and counting to ten, Kono puts a wan smile on her beautiful face and steps fully into the kitchen.)

"Hey."

"Hey. Eric asleep?"

"Finally. Bless his little heart; our son was one sick young man last night."

"Yeah, must have caught something. Just how long does it take this thing to make coffee, K? I've been standing here for a good two minutes."

"You know perfectly well how long it takes, Tony. What's your hurry anyway? You told me last night you didn't have to be at the base until 0700 and it's only 0603 now."

"And I need to review some files to prepare for this budget meeting, Kono. I told you that, too."

"Tony, it's only a fifteen minute drive to the base from here. If you haven't reviewed those files before now you're a little behind the game."

"Didn't say I hadn't reviewed the files, Kono; just like to be as prepared as possible. You know as well as I do that the higher ups won't hesitate to cut our budget if they don't get the answers they want."

"This is your bi-annual budget review, Tony; they're not going to cut _anything_ from your budget. They know how important the SEAL teams are to national security. . . Aren't you the least bit worried about Eric?"

"What kind of question is _that_? Of course I'm worried about our son."

"Really? 'Cause you didn't get up one time during the night while I sat in the bathroom and held him while he was throwing up, poor little thing."

"You had things under control, Kono; besides, I needed to be well-rested for these meetings today."

"It doesn't matter whether I had things under control or not, Tony! Eric was crying and asking for you! I even brought him into our bedroom between the almost non-stop throwing up he was doing and you didn't even twitch!"

"I heard him. I didn't respond because I knew I'd be up all night if I did."

"You heard our son, _your_ son, crying for you and YOU. DIDN'T. BOTHER. TO. GET. UP?!"

"Like I said, I needed to get some rest."

"Oh, you . . .You . . . Get out!"

" 'Cuse me?"

"You heard me! G ET. OUT! If some damned budget meeting is more important than our child, go to the damned base. NOW!"

(Tony has turned to face his very angry wife and, a dark frown on his handsome face, stares at her for just a moment before calmly retrieving his briefcase and cover from one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Tony walks by Kono on his way out the door and stops to drop a perfunctory kiss on her cheek before heading outside, getting into his truck, and driving away. Kono is exhausted, worried about Eric, and furious with Tony, and she drops down into a chair, puts her head in her hands and indulges herself in a good old-fashioned, cleansing cry. . .)

**Lana and Chin Kelly:**

(The alarm has gone off three, separate times and Chin STILL refuses to get up. Lana has tried everything, short of firing Chin's Glock right next to his ear, but he simply won't budge. She, on the other hand, got right up as soon as the alarm went off the first time, has showered and dressed, had breakfast, and is ready to leave for the hospital. Obviously, Chin has hit the button to allow him ten extra minutes of sleep a couple of times. If he doesn't get up within the next two minutes, he's going to be late for work and then he'll be really cranky. Of course, Lana could simply ignore him and go on to work, but then he'll be mad at her for not making sure he was up. Well, she's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't, so she tries, one last time, to get her stubborn husband up and into the shower.)

"Chin Ho Kelly, if you don't get up, right this very minute, you're going to be late for work!"

"Um hmmm."

"CHIN! Are you listening to me? GET. UP!"

"In a minute."

"NOW!"

"Mmmmm."

"What is _wrong_ with you? You weren't up late last night and you didn't have a trying day yesterday, so . . . Are you sick?"

(Lana puts her hand on Chin's forehead to check and see if he has any temperature and he angrily pushes her hand away and turns over; mumbling.)

"Leave me alone, Lana!"

"Well, you certainly don't have a temperature. Did you eat something last night that disagreed with you?"

"Go away!"

"I will not! Why are you refusing to get up and get ready for work? Has Steve called some meeting you're trying to avoid?"

"No! Now, go away!"

"Fine! I'm going. Just don't blame me when Steve rips into you for being late! Have a nice day!"

(Her anger high, Lana slams the door to their bedroom and marches out to her Jeep. She is still angry several minutes later when she tries to figure out what's wrong with her husband and can come up with no plausible answer.)

**Libby and Mike Thrasher:**

(Libby is standing in the kitchen pouring herself a cup of coffee when her handsome husband steps into the house from the back deck after having finished a morning run on the beach. Libby smiles as she gives Mike a quick once-over. Although the man is a grandfather, he's looking mighty good to her! Just as Mike gives her a quick kiss and she turns to pour some coffee for him, both their cellular phones begin to ring. Sam's and Caroline's caller i.d.s pop up and both parents smile as they answer.)

"Good morning, Sam!"

"Hey, Dad. Would you please explain to me why you men think it's perfectly all right to teach your children things which are totally unacceptable?"

"Caroline, what are you up to this morning?"

"Danny is acting like a total idiot, Mom."

"Just what has Steve taught Emily to do, Sam?"

"Throw oatmeal; _at her mother_!"

"Now, Caroline, I'm sure you're exaggerating. What did Danny do?"

"He _ignored_ me!"

"Sam, Emily is only a year-and-a half old, I'm sure she didn't deliberately throw oatmeal at you."

"Oh, yes she did, and Steve taught her to do it!"

"What do you mean Danny _ignored_ you?

"I had to fly training exercises all night and, when I finally got home this morning, he . . ."

"He what?"

"Well, he . . . _Ignored_ me!"

"Caroline, you're going to have to be a little more specific, dear."

"Fine! He got in the shower and, when I started to join him, he wouldn't let me in!"

(Libby and Mike are both trying their best not to laugh at their daughters' indignant attitudes, but before they can address their children, the call waiting beeps on both their phones.)

"Hold on a minute, Caroline, Lana's calling. . . . Lana, how are you this morning?"

"Hang on, Sam . . . Kono, what are you up to this fine morning?"

"Hoping you can explain to me why my husband is acting like a cold, unfeeling, fool, Mike. I mean, is this some sort of secret SEAL thing I don't know about?"

"My husband is an idiot, Libby! He's refusing to get up and get ready for work and he's going to be late!"

"Um, I'm going to need more intel, Kono. Just exactly what is it Tony's done?"

"Well, dear, Chin is an adult. If he chooses to get up and get ready for work, there's not much you can do about it."

"Yeah, but he's going to get all mad at me because I didn't make him get up!"

"Eric was up most of the night with some kind of stomach bug and I was up with him. Not once did Tony bother to check on either of us; even when Eric was _crying_ for his Daddy!"

"Hold on a second, Lana, I have Caroline on the other line. . . Caroline? Am I to understand that you came in from flying all night and you wanted to, er, 'play' and Danny didn't?"

"Yeah, Mom, that's about the size of it. Except . . It wasn't."

"Caroline!"

"Tony has a lot on his mind right now, Kono. I happen to know that there's someone at the D.O.J. who's trying to cut the SEALs' budget and Tony's presentation to the committee today is very important. Just a second . . . Sam, I'm sure Emily figured out that she could throw oatmeal with her spoon all by herself and Steve just thought it was funny when she happened to throw it at you."

"I had just come in from flying all night, Dad! I didn't think it was funny at all, and Steve should not have laughed; that's just encouraging her!"

(But before Mike can say another word, the Thrasher's house phone rings and Mike quickly tells Sam to hang on and grabs it without bothering to look at the caller I.D.)

"Hello?"

"Just wanted to give you a 'heads up', Mike. Sam's probably going to be calling you to vent."

"You're a little late, Son; she's on one side of my cellular phone and Kono's on the other. And, from what I can tell from the snatches of conversation I've overheard, Libby's got both Caroline and Lana on her cellular. Are all you boys misbehaving this morning?"

(But Sam has overheard her father and yells so loudly both he _and _Steve can hear her.)

"You're warning my father about me now, Steve?"

"Tell her I was just . ."

(But Mike Thrasher has had enough and, holding both phones in his hands slightly away from his body, whistles loudly enough for Libby and everyone on their phones to hear him. When all the chattering ceases, Mike raises his voice so as to be heard by those on the three phones.)

"All right, that's it! Family meeting at our house tonight, 1800 hours! Rosa will be here to take care of the children so all of you 'adults' can sit down and talk about your issues with one another calmly, or have a spirited discussion, or, Hell, I don't care if you have a 'free-for-all'! Enough is enough!"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

**Title: "Salvation Series: It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood"**

**Author: Michelle Heath**

**Rating: MA for adult situations and language**

**Summary: Story #10 in the Salvation series. This one is pure fun, folks!**

**Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-0; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!**

**Date Written: May 31, 2013**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have received numerous private messages and reviews indicating the rating for this story may have "buried" it in the new story listings and/or some of my faithful readers may not have seen it yet. So okay, I'm going to change the rating and "spice it up" some and, perhaps, that will allow it to garner more attention. Also, to those of you who have expressed concern that all the couples are fighting, please let me assure you that they're not really fighting; they're just having a "rough bump in the road". Besides, if everything was all sunshine and lollipops and roses all the time, it could get rather, well, boring. I promise you that there are no divorces or separations on the horizon for my Five-0 ohana! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and review and/or send me private messages. Love you all! Okay, on to Chapter three! Michelle**

(Danny and Chin, who has Tony on his cellular phone, are standing in Steve's office when Steve places his call to Mike, and Chin passes on Mike's order to his cousin-in-law. After a few more seconds of conversation, Chin ends his call and faces Steve and Danny with a grim expression on his face. The three young men have been discussing the "rough" morning they had with their respective wives, and Chin brings Steve and Danny up to speed with the events that transpired at the Montgomery's. By the time he's finished, all three of them are wearing dark frowns.)

"Why didn't you just go ahead and get up when the alarm went off, Chin?"

"Because I wanted an extra few minutes of sleep, Danny. I was up really late last night."

"Well, why didn't you just explain that to Lana?"

"Because, Danny, I was up late last night working on a surprise for Lana's birthday. I waited until she was asleep, slipped out of our bedroom, and worked on my laptop for a while."

"Ah . . . Okay, Steven, why did you teach Emily to throw oatmeal on her mother?"

"For the last time . . . I did NOT teach Emily to throw oatmeal on her mother, or anyone else, for that matter!"

"She had to learn it somewhere."

"I didn't teach her! . . . But, you're right, Danny; she had to learn it from somewhere. . I'm so going to kill you!"

"Hey! You certainly don't think _I_ taught her to throw oatmeal, do you?"

"Why not? Sounds exactly like something you'd do, Danny!"

"Me? Why not Chin or Tony, or Mike, or . . or. . Maybe _Sam_ taught her to throw oatmeal and it backfired on her!"

(Both Steve and Chin stare at Danny with expressions that silently admonish him for having made such a stupid statement, and even Danny's anger abates as he realizes how truly foolish his outburst really was. Before he can say anything, though, Steve immediately jumps on Danny's case with both feet.)

"Just what was _your_ problem this morning, _Danno_? You're drop-dead gorgeous wife comes home after she's been on-duty and flying all night and, according to you, was frisky, and you_ turned her down_?"

"Yeah, Brah, I'm a little curious about that one myself."

"I just wasn't . . I didn't . . ."

"Well?"

"What about Tony? His wife and _son_ were up all night because Eric was sick, and Tony _completely_ ignored him!"

"Don't change the subject, Danny!"

"It's a legitimate question, Steven! Whatever the three of us may have done, _ignoring_ _your child_ at any time is ten times worse!"

"He's got a point, Steve."

"Fine. He's got a point. We'll get to Tony in a minute! I want to know what was _wrong_ with Danny this morning!"

"Since when is my personal life open for discussion?"

"You're the one who brought it up, Moron!"

"Well, yeah, but only because you and Chin were sharing during 'Show and Tell'!"

"Actually, Danny, from what you described, I don't think there was a lot of 'Show' going on."

"And here I thought I could count on you to not lower yourself to Pineapple Boy's level, Chin."

"I have my moments."

"Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome."

"Give it up, Danny."

"No, Steven. I want to talk about Tony's screw-up."

"Chin and I want to talk about _your_ screw-up."

(But Danny is saved from further harassment by Kono's arrival. The three men quickly scatter and head for their respective offices. A good thing, as it turns out, because Kono is madder than a hornet and her anger is reflected on her face. She glares at each of her co-workers as she marches into her office, plops down in her chair, and turns her back to all of them after picking up a file from her desk. . .

Libby and Mike Thrasher are sitting across from one another at their breakfast table looking at one another with somewhat amused expressions on their faces. After Mike's firmly issued order, everyone who was on the Thrasher's phones made their extremely polite apologies and all the calls abruptly ended. Libby knows her husband has something "special" planned for the children and she can't resist asking him what he's thinking.)

"What have you got up your sleeve, Mike?"

"Nothing dramatic, Libby. Remember what I used to do when the new kids on my SEAL team would start kibitzing with one another?"

"You're not going to take the children out to the base and lock them all up together until they settle things, are you?"

"As much as I'd like to do just that, no. I love Grace and Emily and Eric very much, but I don't know how long it's going to take the kids to straighten everything out, and I was thinking about you and I taking the boat out; just the two of us. Kind of hard to have a romantic weekend with the grandchildren around."

"Absolutely! So, what is your plan?"

"I'm taking you, Rosa, and the grandkids out to dinner. We're leaving as soon as Grace, Emily, and Eric are all here, Rosa can meet us at the restaurant, and the children can do whatever it takes to get everything straightened out."

"I think they all got the impression that you were going to "mediate" things when they all got here."

"Well, they can think again. They're all adults and we are not marriage counselors. They can't all come running every time they have a 'bump' in the road of life. We're not going to be around forever, Libby, and they need to learn to work things out for themselves! I'm more than happy for them to use our house as 'neutral ground', but they don't need us here to referee."

"Well, you're certainly on a tear this morning. You love it when the children call and ask for our help and you know it."

"Yes, I'm glad we can be here for the kids, but. . . Damn it, Libby, I'd like to spend some time with you. Alone. No children; no grandchildren. Just the two of us out on the boat in the middle of the Pacific. All we'd really need to pack are swimsuits and our toothbrushes. . . Think about it."

"I see exactly what you mean, Mike. You're absolutely right. We'll go have a lovely dinner with Rosa and Grace and Emily and Eric and let the children get things straightened out the best way they can. In fact, we'll tell them they can have the house all to themselves for, what, a week? Two?"

"Thought you'd see things my way."


End file.
